Filament feeding and storage device

ABSTRACT

A filament feeding device in which filament from a supply thereof is tangentially wound about a storage drum from which said filament is axially withdrawn. A housing which is fixed has a cavity within which the storage drum is removably seated. The outer contour of the drum and the confronting inner contour of the cavity are matingly shaped so as to define a radial gap therebetween and also so as to prevent significant relative rotation between the drum and the housing whereby the drum is in effect floating within the housing, being unsecured thereto. The filament tangentially wound about the drum forms a plurality of windings which advance axially within the radial gap and is thereafter withdrawn axially through an aperture at the opposite end of the housing. The mating confronting contours of drum and housing may be oval shaped, polygonically shaped, or be shaped in any other non-circular contour which results in preventing relative rotation between the drum and the housing.

United States Patent [1 1 Clemens 1 FILAMENT FEEDING AND STORAGE DEVICE[75] lnventor: Robert W. Clemens, Malverne, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Wesco Industries Corp., Plainview,

221 Filed: Sept. 28, 1972 211 App]. No.: 293,147

[52] US. Cl. 242/47.l2, 66/125 R, 66/132 R,

SUPPLY CONE Sept. 18, 1973 Primary Examiner-Stanley N. GilreathAssistant ExaminerMilton Gerstein Attorney-Henry R. Lerner [57] ABSTRACTA filament feeding device in which filament from a supply thereof istangentially wound about a storage drum from which said filament isaxially withdrawn. A housing which is fixed has a cavity within whichthe storage drum is removably seated. The outer contour of the drum andthe confronting inner contour of the cavity are matingly shaped so as todefine a radial gap therebetween and also so as to prevent significantrelative rotation between the drum and the housing whereby the drum isin effect floating within the housing, being unsecured thereto. Thefilament tangentially wound about the drum forms a plurality of windingswhich advance axially within the radial gap and is thereafter withdrawnaxially through an aperture at the opposite end of the housing. Themating confronting contours of drum and housing may be oval shaped,polygonically shaped, or be shaped in any other non-circular contourwhich results in preventing relative rotation between the drum and thehousing.

15 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures YARN TO KNITTING MACHINE PATENTED 3.759.455

SHEU 1 0r 2 FIG. 5. F IG.

FILAMENT FEEDING AND STORAGE DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to filament or yarn storage and feedingdevices used in association with textile producing apparatus,particularly knitting machines, but relating as well to weaving andspooling apparatus.

In a knitting machine, the supply of yarn is in the form of a pluralityof yarn cones with the yarn being drawn from the cone by the needles. Asyarn is drawn off the cone, it undergoes substantial variations intension due to the manner in which the yarn package is formed on thecone and unwound therefrom. Furthermore, the yarn supplied from any onecone is likely to be under different tension from that supplied to theneedles at the same time from any of the other cones, resulting in theproduction of goods which are nonuniform, inferior in quality, and oftenconsidered as being defective. Efforts have previously been made toresolve the problems pointed out above by providing an intermediate yarnstorage device disposed between the yarn cone and the needles..Examplesof such storage device are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,225,446 and3,419,225, each of which discloses the use. of a drum of substantiallyuniform diameter which is rotated so as to tangentially wind apredetermined'quantity of yarn thereon, which yarn is subsequentlywithdrawn axiallyfrom the drum. In this way all of the yarn from thecone is rewound around the uniform diameter storage drum and,

Some of the drawbacks described above have been eliminated by providinga storage feeder wherein the storage drum is prevented from undergoingany significant rotation, with the yarn being tangentially wound ontothe storage drum by providing a yarn guide which rotates about thestorage drum. By so winding the yarn onto the drum, there isdeliberately imparted to the yarn stored on the drum a certain amount oftwist. Since the yarn, however, is always withdrawn from the drum whilethe latter is substantially stationary, the identical amount of twist isimparted in the opposite direction to the yarn during the withdrawal fora net effect of zero twist. One of the main problems encountered,however, in a storage feeder wherein the yarn is wound about a drum isthat of keeping the drum relatively stationary, since the manner ofwinding and unwinding the yarn onto the drum makes it impossible tofixedly support the drum in conventional manner. In accordance with theknown prior art, preventing rotation of the storage drum is accomplishedby the use of being withdrawn axially from the drum, the tension of theyarn is reduced to a uniform magnitude, with the same conditionsimultaneously prevailing in all other yarns axially withdrawn, eachfrom its own storage drum.

While said prior art storage devices constitute substantialimprovement,they are not entirely free of deficiencies. More specifically, while theyarn tension condition has been measurably improved by the tangentialwinding about the rotating drum and axial withdrawing therefrom, newproblems have arisen which contribute to the production of less thanwholly uniform goods.

This is due to the factthat the conditions under which the yarn is woundonto and unwound from the storage feeder during the, knitting processare continuously varying. For example, under one condition, theyarn iswoundon the rotating storage drum at the same exact rate that the yarnis withdrawn, in which case there is no twist imparted to the yarn.Under another condition, the yarn is withdrawn from the storage drum ata slower rate than that at which it is wound onto thestorage drum, andin such condition, there isa twist imparted to the yarn inonedirectiomUnderyet another condition, there may be yarn withdrawnaxially from the storage drum when the latter is not rotating orrotatingat a speed which causes the yarn to be wound onto the drum at a slowerrate than that at which it is withdrawn,

a weighted drum, or the use of an eccentrically mounted drum, or the useof planetary gearing. While said means for preventing rotation, as wellas magnetic means, are technically feasible, they render the storagefeeder relatively complex, cumbersome and above all very costly. A v f lIn accordance' with the invention, there is provided a yarn storagefeeder which isvoid of the deficiencies pointed out above and which isgenerally a greatly improved storage feeder both in efiectiveness andthe I quality of performance, while the cost thereof is substantiallyreduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, the storagedrum is supported within the device by being seated in the cavity of asupport member therefor. The confronting contours of the storage drumand its seat are shaped so that the drum is prevented from having anysignificant rotation with respect to the seat, without requiring any andin this condition there is a twist imparted to the means for fixedlysecuring the drum within the device, Thus, the drum, in accordance withthe invention, can be characterized and is hereafter referred to as afloating drum, being freely removable and insertable within the device.In accordance with orne embodiment, the outer contour of the drumsurface is oval shaped, as is the inner contour of the support therefor,there being a small radial clearance between said contours to enableyarn wound onto the drum to be advanced axially therealon'g. At the sametime, the oval configuration of the drum and support therefor preventsany significant relative rotation between the floating drum and itssupport. Since the support is fixedly mounted on the knitting machine,the drum remains substantially stationary without requiring independentsecuring means which otherwise have to be devised so as not to interferewith the path of the yarn. in other respects, the storage BRIEFDESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a storagefeeder in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are views similar to FIG. 3 but showing variousmodifications thereof; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1through 3, there is shown a storage feeder 10 in accordance with theinvention. Storage feeder 10 includes a frame member 12 which is adaptedto be 'affixed to the knitting machine in any suitable manner. Framemember 12, as best shown in FIG. 2, fixedly mounts a hollowed out member14 whose cavity 16 comprises a first section 16a of uniform crosssection, best shown in FIG. 3, a conical second section 16b, and a thirdsection 16c having a reduced cross section. A storage drum 18 issupported by member 14 within its cavity section 16a. Storage drum 18comprises a flange 20 at its upper end, a uniform cross section mainbody portion 22 and a short generally conical section 24 between flange20 and main body portion 22. As best shown in FIG. 3, cavity section 16ahas an inner contour which is oval shaped and complementary to the ovalshaped radially spaced confronting outer contour of storage drum mainbody portion 22. Accordingly, and as best shown in FIG. 2, when thestorage drum is inserted within cavity 16 of its support member 14, theinner upper rounded edge 26 of cavity section 16a will supportinglyengage conical section 24 of the drum so that the outer surface of drumportion 22 will be spaced from cavity section 16a with a radial gap 28surrounding the storage drum. Also, the axial length of drum 18 isrelated to the dimensions of cavity 16 so as to provide a clearance 30between bottom edge 32 of the drum and cavity 16. It will be evidentthat with the storage drum so supported within cavity 16 of supportmember 14, the mating confronting contours of storage drum and supporttherefor, being oval, prevents any significant relative rotationtherebetween.

A tubular sleeve 34 is mounted for rotation about fixed support member14 by means of bearings 36, said sleeve being provided with a yarn guide38 through which yarn Y from a supply thereof can be threaded. Sleeve 34is thus mounted for rotation about fixed support member 14 and may bedriven by means of belt 40 which is in engagement with pulley 41, thelatter being driven by a motor M or any other suitable driving member.Thus, tubular sleeve 34, when driven, defines a winding member wherebyyarn passed through guide to the yarn as it passes between the ball andsocket on its way toward the knitting machine needles. It is apparentthat though storage drum 18 is floatingly supported by member 14, beingunsecured thereto, the respective contours of drum and support thereforprevents any significant rotation of the storage drum. Thus, to allintents and purposes the drum is stationary without however beingrequired, as in the prior art, to be fixedly secured to the yarn storagedevice. It will also be noted that the sole physical engagement of thestorage drum within the storage feeder is along conical section 24, withthe yarn being wound passing between conical section 24 and upper edge26 of support member 14. In this connection, it should be noted thatstorage drum 18 is preferably hollow, as shown at 49, and made oflightweight material whereby the tension applied to the yarn as itpasses between the drum and its supporting member 14 is maintained at anacceptable level which does not interfere with the winding of the yarnonto the drum.

In order to control the minimum and maximum quantity of yarn to bestored on the storage drum, there is provided as shown in the embodimentof FIG. 2 within a cavity in support member 14, a feeler 52 having acurved sensing portion 54 resiliently urged against the storage drum anda switch arm portion 56 terminating in an electrical contact member 58.The full lines in FIG. 2 show feeler 52 in a first position in whichelectrical contact 58 is in engagement with another electrical contact60 (suitably insulated from the housing) to complete a circuit (notshown) which is operative to maintain rotation of winding member 34. Inthe event that the quantity of yarn stored on the storage drum reaches apredetermined maximum, sensing portion 54 assumes the dotted lineposition shown in FIG. 2 wherein electrical contact 58 is moved out ofengagement with electrical contact 60 to interrupt the drive of windingmember 34. Thus, in a manner similar to that shown in aforementioned US.Pat. applications Ser. Nos. 136,939 and 184,527, the maximum and minimumamounts of yarn stored on the drum can easily be controlled.

It will be understood that photo electric means and other means such asshown in said aforementioned U.S. Pat. applications Ser. Nos. 136,939and 184,527, may be easily adapted for controlling the minimum andmaximum quantities of yarn to be maintained on the storage drumregardless of the yarn demand made on the storage feeder by' theknitting machine needles.

The essential feature of the present storage feeder is in the provisionof a floating storage drum which, though unsecured to the storage feederitself, and removable therefrom if so desired, nevertheless remainssubstantially stationary to enable yarn to be wound thereabouttangentially for subsequent removal axially. This object is accomplishedby providing mating noncircular contours for the drum and its supportingmem ber whereby to simultaneously define a radial gap therebetween topermit winding and advancing of the yarn onto the drum while preventingthe drum from having any significant rotation other than incidentalminute back and forth motion which does not interfere with theunimparied advancement of the yarn as intended.

In FIG. 3, the confronting contours of the drum and its fixed supportare essentially oval shaped. The same result, however, can beaccomplished by using other mating confronting contours so long as theyare shaped to prevent relative rotation of one with respect to the otherwhile still defining a substantially uniform width gap between the drumand its fixed surrounding support member. Illustrations of otherembodiments of the invention are shown in FIGS. 4 through 6. In FIG. 4,the contour is a multi lobe conic. In FIG. 5, the contour is a polygonand particularly a hexagon, and in FIG. 6, the contour is of a hybridnature. In each case, however, it will be noted that a gap 28', 28", and2fi"'is provided between the storage drurn main body portion 22', 22",22"and its associated support 14, M", and 14', respectively, ofsufficient width to prevent any significant relative rotationtherebetween.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the invention wherein a floating drumis provided. The embodiment of FIG. 7 is substantially identical to thatof FIG. 2 except only that the axial length of storage drum 1% isslightly greater in the embodiment of FIG. 7 than it is in theembodiment of FIG. 2. Accordingly, when the storage drum is insertedwithin cavity 16 of support member 14, the bottom edge 62 of the drumwill engage and be supported by conical section 166 of cavity 16, andconical section 24 of drum 18 will be spaced from'upper rounded edge 26of cavity section 16a to define a clearance 64 therebetween for passageof the yarn as it is wound onto the floating drum. In accordance withthis embodiment, the yarn being withdrawn axially from the drum passesbetween drum 22 and cavity wall section 16b on its way out of thestorage device. Thus, the drum and support member 14 collectively definea tensioner for the exiting yarn making it unnecessary to provide anadditional tensioning device for the exiting yarn. In this connection,it will be understood that the weight of the floating drum can beselected so as to provide the requisite level of tension on the exitingyarn.

As is the case with the embodiment of FIG. 2, the confronting contoursof drum 22 and cavity section 16a may be oval or of other matching shapeso long as the contours are such as to prevent any significant relativerotation between drum and support member M, and a gap is providedbetween the drum. and the support to enable unimpaired axial advancementof the yarn wound onto the drum by winding member 3%.

While there is herein shown and described the preferred embodiments ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise than asherein specifically illustrated or described, and thatin the illustrated embodiments certain changes in the details ofconstruction and in the form and arrangement of parts may be madewithout departing from the underlying idea or principles of thisinvention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byletters patent is:

1. A filament feeding device comprising,

a. a drum,

b. support means for said drum,

c. said support means comprising a housing fixed to a frame member andbeing open ended at one end thereof to define a cavity within which saiddrum is removably supported, I

d. the outer contour of said drum and the confrontin inner contour ofsaid cavity being matingly shaped so as to define a radial gaptherebetween and prevent significant relative rotation between said drumand said support means; and e. means for winding said filament aboutsaid drum adjacent one end thereof for forming on said drum 5 aplurality of windings which advance toward the other end of said drumwithin said radial gap.

2. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim I, wherein saidsupport means is provided with an aperture opposite said one end thereofthrough which the filament wound about said drum travels as it iswithdrawn axially of the drum.

3. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 2, wherein aperipheral edge is defined at said one end of said housing about saidcavity and said drum is provided with a peripheral flange at one endthereof whereby said peripheral edge supportingly engages saidperipheral flange for supporting said drum within said cavity.

4. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 2, wherein saidwinding means comprise a tubular sleeve mounted for rotation about saidsupport means and having yarn guide means adjacent said one end of saiddrum.

5. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 4, wherein thereis further provided means for detecting a predetermined quantity offilament wound onto said drum, said detecting means being operative tocontrol the operation of said winding means.

6. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidcavity includes a first and second section, extending, respectively,from said open end, said first section having said confronting innercontour and said second section being radially converging to define aseat supportingly engaging the peripheral edge at the other end of saiddrum.

7. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 6, wherein saidsupport means is provided with an aperture opposite said one end thereofthrough which the filament wound about said drum travels as it iswithdrawn axially of the drum.

8. 'A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 7, wherein saidwinding means comprise a tubular sleeve mounted for rotation about saidsupport means and having yarn guide means adjacent said one end of saiddrum.

9. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 8, wherein thereis further provided means for detecting a predetermined quantity offilament wound onto said drum, said detecting means being operative tocontrol the operation of said winding means.

10. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidcontours are oval shaped.

11. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidcontours are polygonically shaped.

12. A filament feeding deivce in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidcontours are multi lobe conic shaped.

13. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 2, wherein saiddrum is hollow.

14. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 6, wherein saidsupport means is provided with an aperture opposite said one end thereofthrough which the filament wound about said drum travels as it claim 14,wherein said drum is hollow.

t I! III it ts

1. A filament feeding device comprising, a. a drum, b. support means forsaid drum, c. said support means comprising a housing fixed to a framemember and being open ended at one end thereof to define a cavity withinwhich said drum is removably supported, d. the outer contour of saiddrum and the confronting inner contour of said cavity being matinglyshaped so as to define a radial gap therebetween and prevent significantrelative rotation between said drum and said support means; and e. meansfor winding said filament about said drum adjacent one end thereof forforming on said drum a plurality of windings which advance toward theother end of said drum within said radial gap.
 2. A filament feedingdevice in accordance with claim 1, wherein said support means isprovided with an aperture opposite said one end thereof through whichthe filament wound about said drum travels as it is withdrawn axially ofthe drum.
 3. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 2,wherein a peripheral edge is defined at said one end of said housingabout said cavity and said drum is provided with a peripheral flange atone end thereof whereby said peripheral edge supportingly engages saidperipheral flange for supporting said drum within said cavity.
 4. Afilament feeding device in accordance with claim 2, wherein said windingmeans comprise a tubular sleeve mounted for rotation about said supportmeans and having yarn guide means adjacent said one end of said drum. 5.A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 4, wherein there isfurther provided means for detecting a predetermined quantity offilament wound onto said drum, said detecting means being operative tocontrol the operation of said winding means.
 6. A filament feedingdevice in accordance with claim 1, wherein said cavity includes a firstand second section, extending, respectively, from said open end, saidfirst section having said Confronting inner contour and said secondsection being radially converging to define a seat supportingly engagingthe peripheral edge at the other end of said drum.
 7. A filament feedingdevice in accordance with claim 6, wherein said support means isprovided with an aperture opposite said one end thereof through whichthe filament wound about said drum travels as it is withdrawn axially ofthe drum.
 8. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 7,wherein said winding means comprise a tubular sleeve mounted forrotation about said support means and having yarn guide means adjacentsaid one end of said drum.
 9. A filament feeding device in accordancewith claim 8, wherein there is further provided means for detecting apredetermined quantity of filament wound onto said drum, said detectingmeans being operative to control the operation of said winding means.10. A filament feeding device in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidcontours are oval shaped.
 11. A filament feeding device in accordancewith claim 1, wherein said contours are polygonically shaped.
 12. Afilament feeding deivce in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidcontours are multi lobe conic shaped.
 13. A filament feeding device inaccordance with claim 2, wherein said drum is hollow.
 14. A filamentfeeding device in accordance with claim 6, wherein said support means isprovided with an aperture opposite said one end thereof through whichthe filament wound about said drum travels as it is withdrawn axially ofthe drum, and wherein the peripheral edge at the other end of said drumand said seat define a filament tensioner for the filament passingtherebetween as it is withdrawn from the drum.
 15. A filament feedingdevice in accordance with claim 14, wherein said drum is hollow.